Criminal Lawyer Blog

The system is so strapped for resources

The Ontario government’s move to deal with clogged courts and crowded jails with an injection of funding for more lawyers and an expansion of bail programs is an encouraging start for badly needed improvements to the justice system, says Toronto criminal lawyer Matthew Friedberg.

“It’s great the provincial government is allocating more resources for changes that appear to be sensitive to the needs of accused people and not just the police or prosecution — the system is so strapped for resources,” he tells AdvocateDaily.com. “These are positive developments.”

Friedberg, a partner with Caramanna Friedberg LLP, weighs in after Ontario’s Attorney General Yasir Naqvi recently told a news conference at London police headquarters that the changes are designed to move people through the courts more quickly and to relieve pressure on jails such as the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, reports the London Free Press.

“Our criminal courts are bottle-necked. Dockets are jammed and timely trial dates are hard to come by,” Naqvi said in the article.